Wolf in a Rose Garden
by TheScaryDoor195
Summary: Robert Baratheon is furious with Mace Tyrell for not only siding with the Targaryens but also refusing his call in the Greyjoy Rebellion. Robert with the help of Varys devise a plan to punish him. He legitimizes Ned Stark's Bastard and sends him to be fostered in Highgarden where he will marry Margaery Tyrell once they come of age. Uses some book cannon and some show cannon.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own A Game of Thrones all rights belong to GRRM**

The sun sat in the middle of the sky and beat down an almost unbearable heat on the tower in the middle of the desert. In front of the tower stood three men all wearing almost identical sets of white armor and white cloaks. These three men are knights any man in the Seven Kingdoms would recognize Ser Gerold Hightower the White Bull, Ser Oswell Whent, and perhaps the most well known of the three, Ser Arthur Dayne the Sword of the Morning.

The knights stood and watched as riders approached knowing that if it was the wrong man that showed up they would find themselves fighting a battle for their lives that they would not win.

As the riders came into view they noticed was the man leading them, Eddard Stark Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, and that the Usurper was nowhere to be found. If this was who they were hoping would come they showed no sign of it. When the riders got closer they halted their progress, dismounted, and proceeded on foot for the last ten or fifteen feet.

"I looked for you on the Trident," Ned said to them.

"We were not there," Ser Gerold answered.

"Woe to the Usurper if we had been," said Ser Oswell.

"When King's Landing fell, Ser Jaime slew your king with a golden sword, and I wondered where you were."

"Far away," Ser Gerold said, "or Aerys would yet sit the Iron Throne, and our false brother would burn in seven hells."

"I came down on Storm's End to lift the siege," Ned told them, "and the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne dipped their banners, and all their knights bent the knee to pledge us fealty. I was certain you would be among them."

"Our knees do not bend easily," said Ser Arthur Dayne.

"Ser Willem Darry is fled to Dragonstone, with your Queen and Prince Viserys. I thought you might have sailed with him."

"Ser Willem is a good man and true," said Ser Oswell.

"But not of the Kingsguard," Ser Gerold pointed out. "The Kingsguard does not flee."

"Then or now," said Ser Arthur.

"We swore a vow," explained Ser Gerold.

They stood there for what couldn't have been more than a minute but it felt like hours to the men in the stand off and it appeared that it would come to violence until a cry rang out from the tower above.

"Your sister awaits you Lord Stark." Announced Ser Arthur.

The riders started forward until a voice cut them off.

"Only you Lord Stark." Said Ser Gerold a bit harshly.

The Northern men all looked a bit uneasy and reached for there weapons until Ned put one hand up as a signal to stop.

"Alright I shall go alone." Conceded Ned

"Follow me." came the voice of Ser Arthur only a few moments later.

Ned followed the knight up the stairs of the tower into a room at the top. The knight opened the door and walked in closely followed by Ned and what he saw next was a sight that would haunt his dreams for many years to come. His sister was laying in a bed of her own blood and her face was looking incredibly pale. Ned immediately rushed to her side and yelled her name.

"Lyanna!"

"Ned is that you, is that really you, you're not a dream?"

"No I'm not a dream." He replied while smiling sadly. "I'm here, right here." He stated.

"I've missed you big brother."

"I've missed you too."

"I want to be brave"

"You are."

"I'm not, I don't want to die"

"You're not going to die. Get her some water!" He yelled at no one in particular.

"No, no water just listen to me Ned," she leaned in close and whispered to him "his name is Jaehaerys Targaryen, if Robert finds out he'll kill him, you know he will you have to protect him. Promise me Ned, promise me."

He then heard a babies cry and the wet nurse brought the baby to him and put him in his arms.

"Promise me Ned, promise me" She reiterated with her last breath.

Ned looked down at the baby as it opened its eyes to look at him and Ned saw deep purple eyes staring back at him.

 **Line Break**

As they rode in silence the castle of Starfall came into view and Ned kept shifting uncomfortably, nervous for the reunion that was about to occur between him and the only woman he has ever loved, Ashara Dayne. The closer they got to the castle the more uncomfortable he felt until the were at the gates and he felt as if he might burst from how nervous he was.

"Who goes there!" Yelled a guard from atop the wall.

"I, Arthur Dayne and my companions who seek an audience with my sister, Lady Ashara." replied Arthur.

The gates were quickly opened and they made their way into the courtyard where his men plus Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell were shown to their rooms. A servant beckoned Arthur, Ned, and Wylla the wet nurse who was carrying Jon, the name they decided upon as they couldn't go around calling him Aemon for obvious reason, to follow her to Ashara's chambers. They walked in silence until they reached Ashara's chambers where the servant paused.

"Not many know this but Lady Ashara birthed a stillborn a few moons ago and has been struck with a fever since then and the maester says she is not long for this world." The servant told them.

They nodded wordlessly and entered her chambers closing the door behind them. Lying on the bed was a very pale and weak looking Ashara Dayne.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite men in the world." Said Ashara with a light grin.

"Hello Ashara" Replied Arthur with a sad smile.

"What brings you two fine gentlemen here today." Asked Ashara with another weak grin.

The men looked at each other before Ned stepped forward and told them of their predicament. Ashara sat there in her bed silently the whole time just listening and taking in all that Ned had to say, and when he was done she briefly glanced at Jon before saying, "Do you have a plan for what you are to say to Robert, I doubt he would be happy another Targaryen being alive."

Ned looked at Arthur briefly before saying, "I am going to claim him as my own and Arthur shall ask Robert for a release from his Kingsguard oaths to accompany me to Winterfell and stay to protect the boy, and to explain why he is going to Winterfell and why he has purple eyes, well we were wondering if…" Ned trailed off.

"You were wondering if you could claim he is our child." Ashara said. Ned's silence gave her the answer she was looking for. "I would be fine with that, if this damn war hadn't started then me and you would be married and perhaps we would have already had our first child." Ashara stated.

Ned looked at her and smiled sadly "I would have liked that."

Ashara looked at them sadly and asked "Would you two stay with me tonight?"

They wordlessly nodded. They stayed with her all throughout the night reminiscing with each other each thinking how much simpler life was before the rebellion. When Ned and Arthur woke up the next morning Ashara was not breathing, she had passed in her sleep.

 **Line Break**

Ashara's funeral was held two days later and the party of ten men, one wet nurse, and a baby left the morning after on a boat headed to King's Landing with the bones of Lyanna Stark.

As soon as they docked in King's Landing they started to put their plan into action. First Ned along with Ser Gerold, Ser Arthur, and Ser Oswell would make there way to the Red Keep while the other six men along with the wet nurse and Jon would find an inn to stay in. Next Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell would bend the knee to Robert and request their positions on the Kingsguard were not removed, this part took very long for Ned to convince them to agree to. Finally Ned would explain Lyanna's death, how he had a bastard with Ashara, and Ser Arthur would request release from the Kingsguard to go North and protect his nephew.

Their whole plan worked perfectly, Robert accepted Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell into the Kingsguard and released Ser Arthur, and he and Robert spent time grieving over Lyanna and shared some of their favorite memories of her over a glass of wine, or seven.

 **Line Break**

They stayed in King's Landing for a week before sailing north to White Harbor to ride to Winterfell. The whole journey was done mostly in silence until Winterfell was coming into view and Ser Arthur rode up to Ned.

"Are you sure all of your men can be trusted with this secret?" Murmured Arthur almost too quietly to be heard.

"Yes, I trust them all with my life, and they have all been sworn to secrecy." Replied Ned almost instantly.

They continued the rest of the way in silence until they reached the gate.

"Open the gates for your Lord!" shouted a voice from atop the walls.

The gates opened and they entered into the court yard where they were met by Maester Luwin.

"My Lord your wife awaits you with your son and her uncle, Ser Brynden in the Great Hall." Stated the Maester.

Ned scowled the thought of having to tell Catelyn that Jon is his bastard was bad enough, now having to tell the Blackfish too was enough to ruin any man's day. Ned motioned for Arthur and Wylla to follow him, the rest of the party having returned home after reaching White Harbor. The three dismounted and Arthur put up his hood before they all walked to the Great Hall. When they reached it Ned steeled himself for a moment before pushing the door open.

They entered the Great Hall and Ned approached his Wife and her Uncle. As soon as Catelyn saw him approach she jumped out of her seat and yelled "Ned!" before rushing up and giving him a hug.

"Cat!" Ned replied equally excited.

"Come here there's someone here you should meet." Said the auburn haired blue eyed beauty before placing his son into his arms.

"His name is Robb." She added as Ned looked down at him. What he saw was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He saw a pair of bright blue eyes looking up at him, his son had a big smile plastered on his face and a few tufts of auburn hair poking out of his head. He immediately felt a sense of fierce protectiveness for this child, his child.

"Who are your companions?" Cat said only now noticing them.

Ned handed Robb back to the wet nurse before saying "Wylla come here." Wylla stepped forward and Cat finally noticed Jon in her arms.

"Whose this little guy?" Cat asked as she saw Jon.

Ned took Jon into his arms before saying "This is Jon," then he paused for a second before saying "He's my son."

Cat's gave immediately turned steely as she looked angrily at Jon and Ned.

"I see" She replied.

"You think because your a lord now you can disgrace my niece like that Stark, I ought to show you and that boy what you get for disgracing House Tully!" Shouted the Blackfish before reaching for his sword, but Ser Arthur was much quicker. With his hood still up and covering his face he stepped forward and pulled Dawn free of its sheath and pointed it at the Blackfish.

"Take your hand off your word or I'll take your hand off your body!" Thundered Ser Arthur.

"Who are you to threaten me, brother of the Lord of Riverrun!" Yelled the Blackfish.

Arthur reached a hand up and pulled down his hood before saying "I am Ser Arthur Dayne, brother of the Lord of Starfall, Member of Aerys the Seconds Kingsguard, Slayer of the Laughing Knight, and Sword of the Morning, and that is my Nephew you just threatened."

 **I'm a new writer so I would appreciate any feedback you have.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN I know that the Blackfish scene seemed a little out of character but I've always felt that the Tullys cared too little about Jon, and I wanted to have one of them make a big deal about it and Edmure is too young and I couldn't see Hoster leaving Riverrun to go to Winterfell.**

 **And it kinda slipped my mind that Ned and Catelyn only knew each other for a few days**

 **Jon's real name is Jaehaerys I made a mistake last chapter by using Aemon and I can't figure out how to change it**

 **Thanks for all the reviews I really appreciate it**

 **I don't own A Game of Thrones all rights belong to GRRM**

Ser Arthur

Pyke

291 AC, 8 years after the birth of Jon Snow

Ser Arthur stood on the front lines next to Thoros of Myr, a Red Priest, while the siege engines battered at the slowly crumbling walls. Also next to him were his brothers of the Kingsguard Ser Oswell, Ser Gerold, and Ser Barristan. It was nice to be alongside his brothers after so long. Ser Barristan still had no idea of the existence of Jon. They all knew they could trust him, but none wanted to risk the chance of being overheard by any unwanted ears.

Arthur was knocked out of his thoughts by Thoros of Myr who said "I bet you I make it through the breach before you, Dayne."

"You're on." Arthur responded with a small grin.

Thoros laughed at that and said "Thirty gold dragons." The men both shook hands and focused their attention back on the crumbling wall.

Ser Arthur thought about the Usurper and how when he last saw him he looked like the fierce Demon of the Trident everyone talked about, now he looked like your standard middle aged man that was once a warrior that has started to let himself go.

He was Knocked out of his thoughts again by a loud crash as the wall came down. "Charge!" A man behind him yelled.

Arthur and Thoros were leading the pack, neck and neck with the nearest man at least fifteen feet behind them. Arthur pressed himself to run faster, his mind set on one goal, beat Thoros. They had covered three quarters of the distance to the wall and he and Thoros were still neck and neck, leaving all other men in the dust. It must have been quite the sight for any man watching, Thoros of Myr with his flaming sword drawn, and Ser Arthur Dayne with his gleaming blade Dawn, both running fearlessly into battle. As they got closer to the wall, only twenty feet away Ser Arthur kicked it into high gear and sped past Thoros beating him through the gap by a few feet.

As soon as he entered the gap he was swarmed by Greyjoy soldiers. The first one to attack him was a boy no older than eighteen, probably looking for glory by killing the famed Sword of the Morning. Arthur ruined the boys hope of glory with a flourish of Dawn, and his body fell to the ground lifelessly.

The next to come after him was a bulking man standing at least a head taller than Arthur and maybe twice his weight. The man wielded a greatsword with one hand and brought it down at Arthur with all his strength. Arthur was much quicker, he merely stepped out of the way and evened their height before moving on to find his next victim.

Arthur danced around the battlefield and showed everyone there why he is considered one of the greatest fighters ever, he had killed at least half a dozen men by the time someone beside Him, Thoros, or Jorah Mormont had arrived. He sliced down man after man, and no one seemed to be able to match him for more than a few blows.

This continued on for what felt like ours to Arthur, until the Greyjoy men started to retreat into the Keep. Arthur, followed by the remainder of the Usurpers force charged after the retreating Greyjoys. They chased the Greyjoy soldiers into the Great Hall, where the fighting got even more intense and deadly. Arthur continued to end any man foolish enough to cross blades with him, until he spotted the man he was looking for. Victarion Greyjoy, and if the rumors were true he and his brother Euron were the Crow's eyes the two most feared pirates on all the seas. He saw the man standing on the other side of the room cutting down any man in his path. Victarion is hailed as one of the greatest swords alive, and Ser Arthur wanted to test his steel against him. But more importantly, it was rumored he had found a very famous blade Arthur wanted to claim.

One look at the weapon and Arthur knew the rumors were true, he saw the finest blade he had ever seen in his entire life, except maybe Dawn. Arthur cut a path to Victarion until he was close enough to reach out and touch the man. Victarion turned towards him, they looked each other in the eyes, and they dueled.

It was a clash of the titans as two of the best combatants alive fought. They were a blur of slashes and jabs as both men tried to do whatever they could to gain the upper hand in the fight. They fought at a standstill for nearly five minutes, while any man who tried to intervene was quickly cut down. Finally after nearly five minutes Victarion made a mistake, well he technically made a mistake right away by challenging The Sword of the Morning but who's counting, he overextended himself just a little bit, it was so little that against any other fighter it wouldn't have mattered, but this was Ser Arthur Dayne.

Ser Arthur took advantage of this mistake and struck out a quick, powerful blow against Victarion. Victarion was able to block just in time, but in doing so he couldn't plant his feet correctly, and Ser Arthur took advantage of this and launched himself at Victarion with a frenzy of blows. Arthur pressed his opponent back, until with a flick of his wrist he disarmed Victarion, and before he could even blink Victarion's head rolled onto the floor.

Arthur picked up Victarion's blade for a second, before sheathing it and strapping it onto his belt. The fighting around him had died down, and with the battle won he walked back to his tent to store his prize.

 **Line Break**

Arthur stood outside the Usurper's tent with a bag of gold coins strapped to his belt, already knowing why he was there. He waited for what felt like an eternity until Jorah Mormont and Jory Cassel walked out of the tent both beaming with joy. Arthur was told to enter by Ser Gerold, the Kingsguard on duty.

As he entered the tent he noticed that besides himself there were only two other men in the room, Lord Eddard Stark, and the Usurper.

Eddard bowed, and said "Your Grace" before leaving the tent.

"Your Grace." Said Ser Arthur as he dipped his head in front of the Usurper, the words making him want to vomit.

"Rise Ser Arthur." Said the Usurper.

"Might I ask why I am here?" Questioned Ser Arthur, knowing full well why he was there.

"Right to the point eh? I like it." The Usurper said.

"I heard you found a Valyrian Steel weapon on Victarion Greyjoy?"

"Yes Your Grace, and I would like to claim it as my own through conquest." Replied Ser Arthur.

"I would like to know what you plan on doing with it before I grant it to you." Said the Usurper, taking a sip of wine.

Ser Arthur shrugged "Perhaps I will give to one of my Nephews, Jon of Eddrick, or maybe I shall keep for myself should someone else take my position of Sword of the Morning." Said Ser Arthur as if he didn't already have it planned what he would do with it.

The Usurper pretended to think on it for a second, even though it was quite clear he didn't care, before saying "Sounds fair to me, you shall keep it. Though I should tell you Tywin Lannister would pay all the gold in Casterly Rock for a Valyrian steel blade."

"Fuck Tywin Lannister." Said Arthur quite angrily.

The Usurper nearly choked on the wine he was drinking and spit it out. What followed was the loudest, most booming laugh he had ever heard in his entire life.

"I can't tell you how many times I've thought that in my life." Roared the Usurper.

 **Line Break**

Arthur approached Winterfell along with Lord Stark's party. It was just under four moons until Jon's ninth Name-day. Arthur thought back on how different his life was in those nine years, the biggest difference was of course the Starks.

First there was Lord Stark, a man who he had only grown to respect more and more over the years. Then there were their children starting with Robb, who treated Jon just like a trueborn brother, and would grow up to be a great Lord someday. Then there was the eldest daughter of the Starks, five year old Sansa. She was already quite the proper lady at age five, and she tried to act like her mother, including with Jon, though it was quite clear she cared for him a lot. Then there was recently turned three year old Arya Stark, who reminded Arthur very much of Lyanna, in looks and how she acts, and she was basically attached to Jon at the hip, following him everywhere. Then there was young Bran Stark who is so young he wasn't even a fortnight old when they left for the war.

Then there is Jon Snow. Jaehaerys Targaryen. The rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms. The boy he was sent to the North to protect. The boy reminded him very much of his father, more in his personality than in his looks. The only thing in his looks that were Targaryen were his eyes and his build, the rest is Stark. Jon would have made his father proud, and one day he will make a great King of the Seven Kingdoms. Jon was one of the hardest workers he had ever met. He took sword fighting and archery lessons with Robb, taught by both Martyn and Rodrik Cassel. He also takes lessons from Maester Luwin with the other Starks. On top of all of that he takes special Sword fighting lessons every day with Arthur per the Boy's request, he even said he wanted to be the next Sword of the Morning, and every night before Jon went to sleep he would give him lessons on either battle strategy or strategies used by former kings on ruling and how well they worked.

And let's not forget Lady Stark. Arthur disliked the woman because she treated Jon like he was some kind of criminal for being, as she believed, a bastard. She despised Arthur because he made sure Jon was treated as trueborn. At first the servants had treated Jon like he was below them, and the only served because their Lord commanded them to, they even mocked the boy behind his back. As soon as Arthur had caught wind of this he had broken a few noses of servants and beaten a few bloody in the training yard, and ever since then Jon has been treated with the utmost respect. Arthur remembered back on the day he taught the servants and Lady Stark a lesson on why Jon is to be respected.

 _Flashback_

 _Arthur was walking down a hallway in Winterfell when he heard some serving men making quite a ruckus, so he decided to go see what it was about. When he walked towards them he couldn't see what was going on, as they were standing in his way, so he pushed to the front of them. When he go to the front of the seven laughing men he saw Lady Stark holding Jon by the hair, and was yelling at the boy quite angrily, judging by the wet stain on her clothes it seemed likely Jon had spilled something on her. Arthur was about to intervene when he heard on of the servants who clearly hadn't noticed him say something about Jon being a filthy bastard, so Arthur turned and his fist met with the man's nose, with a sickening crunch the man was thrown to the ground from the force of the punch. Arthur then moved forward to confront Lady Stark._

" _What do you think you're doing!" Arthur roared at her._

 _Catelyn looked quite scared for a moment before she composed herself and said "I am disciplining this boy." She said the word boy as if it were poison on her tongue._

 _Arthur looked at her angrily and yelled "For what was clearly an accident!"_

 _Catelyn looked as if she were about to say something when Lord Stark came around the corner and yelled "What is the meaning of this commotion?"_

 _He saw Catelyn and Arthur standing next to Jon and said "Come to my Solar." And he turned and walked off with Catelyn hot on his heels._

 _Arthur turned to Jon and said "Go find Robb." The boy nodded and ran off. Arthur then turned to the servants and said "You six go to the training yard and wait for me." The man with the broken nose had already been gone for a while._

 _Arthur then turned to follow Lord and Lady Stark to Lord Stark's solar._

 _When he arrived and walked in he heard Lord Stark say "Can't you just try to like the boy?"_

 _Neds eyes flickered to Arthur and Catelyn turned to look at him for a second, then quickly turned back to Ned, stood up, curtsied and said "My Lord." She then made to leave, but as she walked by Arthur and he grabbed her arm, stopping her and he said "Don't forget what I told your Uncle, if you lay another finger on him I'll cut off your hand." She looked at him fearfully and quickly left._

 _Arthur then sat down where Lady Stark had been sitting. Lord Stark sat there a minute before saying "Can't you two just try to get along."_

 _Arthur looked at him incredulously before saying "She treats Jon as if he is worthless because of something he did not do, and I shall continue to defend Jon."_

 _Ned responded "I know she treats the boy unfairly, but can think about it from her perspective, she has to live her life with the proof of her husband's unfaithfulness."_

 _Arthur stood up abruptly and shouted "How dare you!" He lowered his voice and said "I swore a vow the day he was born, you swore it too, and I intend to keep my promise, or have you forgotten that he is your blood?"_

 _Ned looked at him incredibly angrily and said "I remember my promise and I also intend to keep it, and I shall never forget that he is my blood, and I love him as if he were my own. So could you two please, for my sake, try to remain civil?"_

 _Arthur said nothing for a minute before saying "Rhaegar was my brother, he was my king, Jon is his son he is the rightful king until Lady Treats him as such I shall not change my mannerism towards her."_

 _Arthur then turned around and left heading to the courtyard. He saw the servants waiting for him practice swords in hand. Arthur walked to the weapon rack and grabbed a wooden blade._

 _He then turned towards the men and said "We shall be training and we shall be done either when one of you lands a hit on me or when the sun goes down in about an hour."_

 _Arthur leapt at the men and smashed one in the face with his sword then quickly pivoted and did the same to a second servant. He smirked and thought to himself 'this will be fun'. An hour later one knight walked away from the training yard leaving six bloody, battered servants behind him, and after that day Jon was shown nothing but respect by the servants at Winterfell._

 _End Flashback_

Winterfell was getting much closer and Arthur couldn't wait to get back home and to Jon. It's kinda funny, Arthur never imagined him viewing any place other than Starfall as home. Even when he lived in King's Landing for all those years with his brothers and Rhaegar he still viewed Starfall as his home, now he's been living in Winterfell for only a few years longer than he did King's Landing, but he has never been this happy anywhere else.

They rode through the gates of Winterfell and all Arthur could think about is seeing the little Stark children and especially Jon.

 **Can you guess what sword Victarion had? Leave a review and tell me what you think.**

 **I know Victarion isn't that good of a fighter but I changed a little bit about his backstory after Robert's Rebellion that I might write about eventually**


	3. Chapter 3

**I probably should have said this in the first chapter but it slipped my mind and I was reminded by a reviewer, I got part of the idea for this story from reading Dragonstone by danivat.**

 **And to those of you who are upset with Lady Stark the reason she is meaner to Jon in this story is mainly because in cannon he is out of her way, and she doesn't have to think about him very much, but in this fiction he is always included in with the whole Stark family, and the first day she met him her uncle got threatened to have his hand cut off by his protector, and most of the time she is the same as she is in the books/show.**

 **I don't own A Game of Thrones all rights belong to GRRM**

Ser Arthur

Winterfell

One moon later

Jon swung at Arthur with all his might, and Artur simply moved out of the way, causing Jon to stumble forward. Arthur swept Jon's feet out from underneath him and pointed his sword at him.

"Dead. Plant your feet before you swing, you'll get less extended." Explained Arthur as Jon got back up to his feet.

They continued to fight back and forth, with Arthur going easy so Jon can actually learn something. After a few minutes, Arthur noticed Jon's shield starting to drop. He swung as fast as he could at Jon's head, stopping mere inches away from it.

Jon stopped what he was doing and Ser Arthur put a hand on the side of Jon's head and said: "Keep your shield up, or next time I'll ring your head like a bell." Jon simply nodded.

They continued fighting for a few more minutes until Jon dropped his shield again, and true to is word Arthur smacked Jon in the head with the wooden practice sword.

"Go to the Maester, then clean up and get ready for dinner," Arthur told Jon.

"Yes, Uncle," Jon replied.

Arthur walked to the main hall where they supped every night. On the way, he thought about how much he enjoyed Winterfell and the people in it. He wished that they could just stay here forever, but he knew it was not so. One day, be it sooner or later, he would ride south with Jon and help Jon claim his throne, that he didn't even know was his by right. He briefly thought of forsaking Jon's claim, and they could both live happy lives in Winterfell, but as soon as the thought came it was gone. He had already failed Rhaegar and Lyanna, but he wouldn't fail Jon too. Besides the Usurper was an ill fit for the throne, and it's doubtful his children would be any better.

Arthur had the feeling deep down in his stomach that something was about to go wrong. To be granted he had this feeling ever since the day Rhaegar told him of his intentions with Lyanna, but still, he trusted his instinct as it had never failed him before.

Arthur entered the Great Hall and took his seat to Lord Stark's left. Lady Stark sat to her husband's right, with their young son Bran in her lap, with Sansa next to her, then Robb, and then lastly was the Stark's new ward Theon. The boy Theon thought much more of himself than anyone else, especially Jon because he was a bastard. The thought had crossed his mind a few times that he couldn't wait for the look on Theon and Catelyn's faces when they had to kneel to Jon and swear their loyalty to him.

Jon came and took the seat right next to him, with Arya following right behind him sitting to his left. Arya followed Jon almost everywhere, much to her mother's chagrin, and Arthur even personally believe that she loved Jon more than any of her trueborn siblings. When Jon first arrived Lady Stark was quite unhappy about Jon sitting with the rest of her family, but when the greatest swordsman in Westeros puts his foot down on something he is almost always obeyed. This scenario ended no different, Lady Stark demand he sat at a different table, Arthur said no, then Lady Stark got used to having him sit at the same table as her. She usually distracted herself with something, today was no different, as she spent most of her time focusing on young Bran.

The meal was the same as any other, Jon, Robb, and Theon talked, Jon and Arya talked, Sansa and her mother talked of very proper ladylike topics. It took only a few minutes before Arthur realized that it wasn't completely normal, Ned was completely silent. He could tell something was off not only because of his silence, but also because he looked very far away, as if contemplating something, much as he had on the way to Starfall from the Tower of Joy.

Arthur continued to eat silently listening to the idle chat of the Stark family, only speaking when directly spoken to, all the while wondering what was on Lord Stark's mind, fearing the worst.

After the meal was over Arthur got up to leave before Ned's voice stopped him.

"Arthur, could we meet in my solar?" Ned more commanded then asked.

Arthur wordlessly followed him worrying more and more that the Usurper found out. They went into Lord Stark's solar and Lord Stark sat down and motioned for Arthur to do the same. Lord Stark then handed him a letter.

"This arrived from King's Landing a few hours ago," Ned spoke softly.

Arthur opened up the message and his heart almost stopped beating at what he read.

 **Line Break**

Varys

King's Landing

A few days earlier

"How dare the damn Fat Flower think he is above my call to arms, I am the damn King when I send a call to arms everyone sends their men, but that damn fat oaf ignores my call to arms and sits out the rebellion in his castle!" Raged on Robert, as he had almost every day since the end of the Greyjoy Rebellion.

Varys sat there in the King's solar and stirred the pot that was Robert's anger by agreeing with him.

"If I may ask Your Grace, why have you called me here today?" Questioned Varys.

"Mace Tyrell needs to be punished for his actions, but I need a more reasonable opinion, Stannis would have me hang him, Renly would have me let him off with no punishment, and Ser Gerold just offers no opinion." Stated Robert.

"I do believe I have an idea, Your Grace." Started Varys, and he waited until the King's eyes snapped to him before continuing "Ned Stark has bastard does he not?"

"Yes he does, but I fail to see what this has to do with Mace Tyrell." Stated the King impatiently.

"You legitimize Lord Stark's bastard, order Mace Tyrell to marry his only daughter to him, name him heir to some holding in the North with no heir, and then Mace Tyrell loses his only daughter and most valuable political bargaining chip to the frozen wasteland of the North, while you simultaneously reward Ned Stark and Ser Arthur for their service in the Greyjoy Rebellion." Stated Varys, showing no sign of emotion.

"The Tyrells would surely just kill the boy before they marry." Stated Robert.

"Tell them they can either marry her to the bastard or the Greyjoy or perhaps she could have a place in The Silent Sisters," Varys said back to him.

Robert grinned at him before grabbing his quill and writing two letters and sealing them with his seal before ordering them to be sent to Winterfell and Highgarden respectively. Varys got up and walked out to have the messages sent with a smirk on his face, the encounter had gone exactly how he wanted.

 **Line Break**

Olenna Tyrell

Highgarden

Olenna sat there in her son's solar with her good daughter taking in the letter her son had just read aloud. She couldn't believe what she just heard, Margaery, her only granddaughter through Mace, the granddaughter she had spent so much time teaching how to manipulate people, that should be engaged to the future king, was to be married off to some recently legitimized bastard. She knew it was a foolish idea for her son to refuse the King's call, but he had not listened to her and now they were paying the price.

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing, maybe he'll be handsome and treat Margaery well." Said Lady Alerie.

Her son's wife was kind, gentle, and beautiful, but she had no ambition for her or her children. All she wanted was for her children to find someone who will make them happy and treat them right, but they were highborn that isn't how it works.

"Don't be a fool Margaery is too good to marry some second son of a lord, no she must be married to a king. Perhaps the boy could come by an unfortunate accident on the journey down here, boys die in traveling all the time." Responded Olenna.

"I will not kill some innocent boy, besides it says in the letter if the boy were to die before they wed she would have the choice of marrying the Greyjoy boy in Ned Stark's care or the silent sisters," Mace told her.

Olenna thought for a moment, trying to come up with some sort of plan to get them out of this situation, but when she could not think of one she said: "Fine a second son of the Starks is better than a first son of the Greyjoys."

"It also says we are not to inform them of their betrothal until they are both thirteen." He then turned to his wife and said "Your uncle Gerold will be coming to visit in two moons and will be staying for a few moons. He said the King gave him time to visit us for his loyal service."

Olenna sat back in her chair, took a sip of her wine, and sighed thinking about what a waste it was that Margaery had to marry some northern savage.

 **Line Break**

Ser Arthur Dayne

Winterfell

Arthur still couldn't believe what he had read, even though he had read it over and over again.

 _What if the usurper found out and he's just trying to draw Jon out? Or what if we do go to Highgarden and someone in Highgarden finds out?_

Arthur was much more concerned with the second thought. He highly doubted that the usurper would've found out, and even if he had he would've just ridden to Winterfell and tried to take Jon by force. Arthur knew that their explanation of Jon had a few holes in it, and up North no one really questioned them because the trusted Lord Stark, but down South if anyone really looked into it hard they would find that they lied about Jon, tell the King, and Arthur doubted the Tyrells would fight to save Jon if he had no real allies.

But there was also a positive side to this, Arthur realized. If they managed to keep Jon's secret from any potential enemies for long enough, until after Margaery's sixteenth name day when they would wed, then the Tyrells would certainly stand behind them, along with the Stark's, Lord Stark had said many times that he would not betray Robert, but Arthur knew Ned had little respect for the King after what was done to the baby Aegon, and he would never betray Lyanna by leaving her son to die in an unwinnable war. With the Starks would come the Tullys, possibly the Arryns, and they could maybe also swing the Martells to their side by promising justice for Elia's children, he knew Ellia would help in any way she could. Just thinking about Elia's children made him sad as he remembered yet another time he had failed Rhaegar. It was awful what had happened, Rhaenys was murdered by an assassin sent by Tywin Lannister just a few days after the Battle of Trident and Aegon was murdered by the Mountain during the Sack of King's Landing.

Arthur turned to Ned and said, "The Tyrells will be powerful allies for Jon."

Ned looked at Arthur angrily and said "is that all you can think about at a time like this? You know how dangerous this is what would happen if someone found out!" Ned raised his voice for the last part.

Arthur looked cooly at him and said: "I know, but there is nothing we can do, the King has already made up his mind and Jon will be leaving after his name day, so it is best to look at the positive."

"You're right, now we must tell Jon that he is to go to Highgarden. But first I must go start preparing for his name day gift." Lord Stark said before heading off to the Crypts.

 **What do you think Ned is going to the Crypts for? Leave a review and tell me what you think.**

 **So Elia Martell is alive.**

 **I was very tempted last chapter to have Victarion live, but it wouldn't work as well with what I have planned for the Greyjoys.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own A Game of Thrones all rights belong to GRRM**

Jon Stark

Winterfell

His ninth name day

Jon couldn't believe that tomorrow was the day he left Winterfell, the only home he had known his whole life to be fostered in the South by some Lord he had never even met. It almost didn't seem real until now, knowing it was so close. The last three months it hadn't seemed real at all, first, his Uncle and Father told him, then announced it to everyone the next day and everyone, excluding Lady Stark, had been very sad, but after that life returned to normal. He still practiced sword fighting with Robb, at meals with his family, took lessons with Maester Luwin, and had sword fighting lessons with his Uncle. It was only a few days ago that his lessons stopped, which caused him to realize how much things were really changing.

He continued thinking about how much he was going to miss Winterfell while he ate until heard his father's voice.

"I believe it is time for Jon's name day gifts."

Arya, Sansa, and Robb stepped forward and gave them their gift in a piece of cloth. Jon unwrapped it and saw what looked like a walnut, but a little bit bigger and it was as white as snow.

"It's a weirwood seed," Robb explained.

"We spent all day yesterday climbing the weirwood tree trying to find one." Continued Arya.

"We thought it would be best if you had a piece of the North to have with you, so you always remember where you're from," Sansa added.

Jon got up to and walked over to his siblings and gave them all a hug before saying "Thank you" very quietly with tears in his eyes threatening to spill.

Arthur walked over to Jon and gave him a dark brown shield with the Stark sigil on the front before telling him "It is made from ironwood, the strongest and lightest wood in the world."

Jon quickly gave Arthur a hug before saying "Thank you, Uncle."

As soon as Arthur sat down Ned stood up and walked over to Jon. He handed Jon a sword still in its sheath.

Jon just stood there in shock holding the blade by the sheath until his father's voice shook him out of his stupor "Check the blade out."

Jon drew the hand and a half sword from its sheath and was right away surprised by how light it was, it was still too heavy for him to comfortably wield with one hand, but still lighter than any other sword he had ever held. He looked at the blade and saw the steel, it was the finest steel Jon had ever seen, clearly made by a master smith. The handle covered in dark leather and it led into the pommel which was an intricately carved wolf made out of weirwood, with rubies for eyes.

Jon sheathed the blade and rushed to hug him and said: "Thank you, father."

Ned hugged him back and said, "What are you going to name it?"

Jon thought for a moment before saying "Dusk."

Arthur smiled at that and said, "You should head to bed now Jon, we have a long journey ahead of us and we leave at first light tomorrow."

Jon got up and wordlessly headed off to bed taking his gifts with him.

 **Line Break**

Jon stood in the courtyard waiting for the supply cart to be packed by the ten Stark guards going with him. Jon turned and saw his whole family approaching him, excluding Bran who was too young to be there.

The first person to reach him was Arya who jumped and gave him a hug before saying "Please don't go Jon."

Jon whispered back to her while hugging her tight "I don't want to, but I have to I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Arya said back to him with tears in her eyes.

Jon set Arya down and turned to his father and gave him a hug before saying "Goodbye Father."

His Father hugged him back and said: "Goodbye Jon, stay safe and listen to everything your Uncle says."

Jon hesitated for a second and said: "Can we talk about my Mother and how you met?"

Ned looked at him and said, "Next time we see each other we'll talk about your mother."

Jon nodded to him before turning to Robb and saying "Farewell Stark."

Robb responded "And you Snow, well I suppose it's Stark now. Don't get too caught up in all the Southern ladies to write to us."

"You don't have to worry about that." Said Jon before giving Robb a quick hug.

Jon then turned to Sansa and said "Goodbye Sansa."

Sansa smiled at Jon and said "Goodbye." She stood there looking at him for a moment before she lunged forward quickly and hugged him and said: "I'll miss you."

Jon smiled and said, "I'll miss you too."

"Come on Jon it's time to leave." He heard his Uncle say.

Jon got up on his horse and rode out of Winterfell with his Uncle and his Stark guard. As Jon looked back on the slowly receding walls of Winterfell he couldn't help but shed a few tears.

 **Line Break**

Ser Arthur Dayne

The Ruby Ford

Arthur rode in silence listening to Jon talk with some of the Stark men. It was strange for Arthur knowing that the man he had sworn to protect, a man that was his brother, and a man whose son he had spent the last nine years protecting, had died no more than a mile away from where they were currently.

Arthur looked down at the blade that hung by Jon's side, Dusk. When he had first seen the blade he was surprised he had recognized it after all these years. It had a different hilt, and the ruby that was in the old hilt was gone, but it was still the same blade Rhaegar had wielded on the Trident. Arthur was quite surprised he had recognized it, so he knew that the only other people who could recognize it were Oswell, Gerold, and Barristan, so he saw no problem with letting Jon ride with it on his belt.

Arthur continued to ride in silence until he heard a rustling in the bushes and a man sprung out and stabbed the guard in the very front of the neck with a spear. Arthur quickly drew his sword as more men came out around them. He counted eight in front of them and five behind them. They were six, as they had sent half their party forward to clear the road in front of them of fallen trees because there had been a storm last night, vs thirteen. Arthur looked at all the men he saw they were all lightly armored if at all, they had all been starved, and very few of them actually knew how to hold a sword.

The heaviest armored and the most well trained of them, Arthur could tell he was the best trained because he was the only one who could correctly hold a sword, stepped forward and said: "Put down your weapons and give us your supplies and maybe we'll let you have a quick death."

Arthur looked at his men and said: "You four take the men behind us, Jon stay behind me."

If it were any other men Arthur would be worried they would lose, but Lord Stark had sent ten of his best men with them, and these bandits were poorly trained. Arthur spurred his horse forward at one of the men and just before he hit him he dove off at one of the men and stabbed him in the neck. The man that he rode his horse at dove out of the horse's way, and landed near Arthur and was quickly ended by Dawn. The first man to regain his senses dove at Arthur with a cry and his sword above his head, but before he could bring it down his head was rolling on the ground.

The five remaining men looked at him with newfound respect. They all, save the man who had talked to them, moved to attack him as one. Arthur was a flurry of parries and within thirty seconds he had already sliced the head off of one man. Arthur saw Jon move up beside him and engage the smallest of the three men. With it only being a two on one Arthur made quick work of the two men. Arthur moved onto the big man who spoke to them.

The man was strong, but the thing that surprised Arthur was how fast he was. He was almost as fast as Arthur. Almost. Unlike his fight with Victarion Greyjoy Arthur was still fresh, so their fight didn't last very long. Arthur swung at the man from the side, and when he put his sword up to block he stumbled from the force of the blow. Arthur quickly delivered a flurry of blows and as quickly as the fight had started it ended with the man's head rolling on the ground.

Arthur turned to see how Jon was doing against his opponent, and was quite surprised to find Jon standing over the body of his dead opponent. Arthur looked down at Jon's opponent and saw he couldn't have been older than fifteen or sixteen, and had clearly been living in poverty his whole life, seeing how weak he looked.

Arthur looked at Jon and put a hand on the boy's shoulder and said: "You did good."

 **Line Break**

Jon Stark

Near Highgarden

Jon could see Highgarden just off in the distance, and it was the biggest city Jon had ever seen, since his Uncle had decided to go around King's Landing. Actually, when Jon thought about it his Uncle acted very strange about going to King's Landing, he repeatedly insisted on not stopping there, almost as if their lives depended on it.

Jon pushed that thought to the side as the city in front of him grew bigger. They quickly passed through the outer gates and went into the city with no one stopping them, unlike in Winterfell. The city wasn't as big as places like King's Landing or Lannisport, but it had to have been more beautiful. There wasn't a single person who appeared to be living in poverty, everyone looked decently fed and clothed. Every house they passed had at least a few flowers growing somewhere, a few houses even looked as if they were made only of flowers and a few other plants.

The closer they got to the castle the nicer every house looked. Jon marveled at the size of some of the houses, a few of them were bigger than some of the inns in Winter Town, and each house was more eloquent and beautiful than the last. Much like the rest of the city, the walls of the Higarden keep were white, clean, and well decorated. They were much different from the walls of Winterfell, they were much nicer to look at, but the walls of Winterfell were much more practical, and would fare much better in the event of a siege.

They stopped at the gates and his Uncle yelled something up at the guards that he didn't hear, as he was too busy studying the intricate carvings in the walls, and the gate opened and they went inside.

As soon as they got inside they dismounted and a servant took their horses away to the stables. Jon looked at the keep itself and was very impressed with the beauty of it, with flowers growing almost everywhere and everything was very clean, but much the same as the walls it was more to look at than anything, and it would fare much worse then Winterfell's keep in a siege as Highgarden had few easily defendable locations.

Jon saw a family who he assumed were the Tyrells standing in front of the keep waiting for them.

They got quite close to them and a fat man who Jon assumed was Lord Tyrell stepped forward and Jon and his Uncle dipped their heads and said "My Lord."

The man smiled at them and said: "Lord Stark, Lord Dayne welcome to Highgarden."

 **Sorry I had to end it there. Up next Jon meets the Tyrells, and a certain member of the Kingsguard.**


End file.
